2011-03-22

A Completely Unreasonable Request?

A good friend of mine showed me this clip and inevitably the conversation came to a point where we discussed going to see the Red Sux play in the Dome and all that it entails.

Packed house

Paying more for a ticket

50/50 split on the cheering

Full parking lots

Red Sux gear being sold by the vendors

You know the deal.

I actually caught myself saying that I prefer not to be in attendance. How can that be?

I must say there was a time when I relished seeing our free spending fucking divisional rivals. It didn't matter to me how pathetic the turnout of fellow Blue Jay faithful was. I had no issue making up for the home side. Taunting Red Sux fans was awesome fun. They were such easy targets. So. Much. Material.

Nowadays the shitshow that is the entire downtown core when Red Sox Nation is in town - especially when it's a weekend - should be completely avoided whenever possible. Just a friendly suggestion. I would be interested to see whether or not there is a spike in crime in the city on those weekends.

As I was writing this up, something donned on me. Just gonna go ahead and throw it out there. If we all stopped going to see this perennial powerhouse play baseball around 10 times a year - every year - would the cheap bastards @ Rogers start thinking that maybe division realignment is the way to go? I figure the revenue that these games bring in is the only reason why that hasn't happened yet.

Please note: at any point in this post feel free to substitute Red Sux or Red Sox Nation with the words Skankees or Evil Empire. It still works.

6 comments:

i think it's just as likely that the Fenway slice thrower was trying to hit the Angels fielder. why would you want to throw it at the guy interfering, given that his interference helps the Red Sox?

the Massholes are out of their minds excited about this season right now. My hope is that the league figures Lester out, Bucholz falls back, and that their three overpaid aces continue to struggle. a Red Sox season full of 8-7 losses would be quite satisfying.

I hate going to NYY and Red Sox games, too. Sure, there are plenty of normal fans, and I have no issue with families and polite folks who probably can't even get tickets back home. But the aura of douchebaggery at the dome at those games is stifling.

I should check out Mariners blogs and see if West Coast Jays fans are perceived this way when the Jays play in Seattle. I like to think Jays fans are generally less douchetacular. In the few road trips I've taken, no other Jays fans stood out as poorly-behaved.

I agree that there can be some annoying aspects to the Yankee/Red Sox fans, but that is part of what makes those games exciting. Outside of committed fans, there is just not enough casual fan attendance to make non-Yankees/Sox games as loud, and that crowd noise and environment is what makes a game. For the most part, the crowd rivalries are pretty clean, and like you said the taunt material is endless.

The alternative of an Orioles game in a half-empty dome, where you can hear your own farts echo isn't quite the same.

It's not that there's so many of the Sox/Yankees fans at the games, it's that they sit in their seats super early for batting practice and clap and cheer for their douchebag team any time they hit a freaking batting practice ball over the outfield wall, and act the entire time like it's their home park. You and I and every other Jays fan have the right...nay, a solemn DUTY to show up to these games just to outbalance their grotesque arrogance. It's bad enough that idiots walk around the city of Toronto with Yankees caps on 365 days a year without being insulted, that these simple-minded bandwagon jumpers can make their vile attempts to take over the dome 9 times a year. The only remedy is to cheer the Jays harder. I HATE going to games against the Red Sox...but now that I live downtown I will go. I MUST go.

Hey guys. Just wanted to say thanks for commenting. Some interesting points of view for sure.

@mike,I watched this clip a whole bunch of times and I wondered the same thing. As you pointed out, the fans actually helped their team out by getting in on the play. I was thinking that this must have been a past beef. All those seats have got to be reserved for season ticket holders. Probably willed to their current holder in an estate for Christ sakes.

@teYou touched on a few things that I was thinking about. We here at 1BJW have been on a couple of road trips to enemy stadiums in the past. Some games were fun. Some games were not. But at no point did we have the balls to talk shit about a team IN that team's home park. Just wouldn't do it.

@Ted,110% in agreement. The Skanks and the Sucks games are guaranteed exciting. But I respectfully submit they are that way for the wrong reasons. I prefer to base my choice of games that I go to by pitching match up. I have found them to provide the best probability of a solid game. That being said, sometimes you just get lucky.

@Anon,Love the spunk. I really do. But you have to think it's past the point of no return when the scalpers wear Yankees gear in order to sell more tickets. I also remember a report not to long ago that the Blue Jays gave ticket buying priority to Yankees fans. My point was maybe we try going in the complete opposite direction. Boycott those games. Right now the Blue Jays official stance on playing in the AL East is: "That's cool with us, we will just have to get better" What I'm suggesting is that perhaps the main reason for that position is because it's a cash cow. If it was no longer that way maybe our position would (rightly) be: "Fuck this shit" Beeston has some major pull with the commish. Bud is retiring in 2 years. Get on it.

Yeah I see your point, I just disagree. If Jays fans boycott those games, they get taken over by the Masswipes or the Yankee fans/human mildew. Rogers will just see them as the only customers who show up and suck up to them even more. Since they're not going to stop coming any time soon the only strategy is to outnumber them.